Head covering



Feb. 8, 1955 R. R. oBERRENDl-:R

HEAD COVERING Filed Dec. 12, 1952 7 ROZnQrL Ii. Uberl'mder BY Wy@ ATTOREY United States Patent Oliice 2,701,366 Patented Feb. 8, 1955 HEAD COVERING Robert R. Oberrender, Freeland, Pa., assignor to the United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Army Application December 12, 1952, Serial No. 325,744

1 Claim. (Cl. 2-195) (Granted under Title 35, U. S. Code (1952), sec. 266) The invention described herein, if patented, may be manufactured and used by or for the Government for governmental purposes without the payment to me of any royalty thereon.

My invention relates to head coverings and more particularly to hot weather head coverings of the type wherein the crown of the same is maintained in spaced relation to the top of the wearers head for ventilation or for other purposes. Specifically, the invention relates to such head coverings which are formed of such lightweight material that the side wall of the device lacks sufficient rigidity to support the crown piece unaided.

In such head coverings, it is customary to provide several separate stilfeners extending vertically between the sweatband and crown inwardly of the side wall of the covering. As a rule, such stileners comprise metal springs or the like and require annular metal frames for their upper and lower ends whereby to increase the weight of the head covering and/or to form a more or less rigid structure which is uncomfortable in use.

If fabric or non-metallic stiffeners are used, the obvious ways of applying them are by forming pockets on the inside of the side piece in which the stiifeners are loosely seated; by stitching the stiffeners directly to the inside of the side piece; or by catching the upper and lower ends of the stiffeners in the upper and lower seams of the side piece. In the rst and second instances unsightly seams visible from the outside are necessarily formed in the side piece which detract from the appearance of the head Covering. In the last instance, the increased bulk of the stiffener in the upper and lower seams, particularly the latter, form irregularities in these areas which are unsightly. Also, in the lower seam or sweatband area, these irregularities make the head covering uncomfortable to wear.

With the foregoing in view, it is an object of the invention to provide an improved stilenng structure for the side piece of a head covering.

A further object is to provide an improved stiffener structure which is concealed in use, is of light weight and which can be applied to conventional head coverings without substantial alteration and without the use of special tools or equipment.

A further object is to provide improved stilening means of the class described which comprises a plurality of stiffening members interposed between the side piece of the head covering and the lining and being secured only to the lining whereby to maintain the stiffeners in position while at the same time concealing them from view.

Other objects and advantages reside in the particular structure of the invention, combination and arrangement of the several elements thereof, all of which will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art upon reference to the attached drawing in connection with the following specification wherein the invention is shown, described and claimed.

In the drawing:

Figure l is a perspective view looking from above of a head covering to which the invention is applied;

Figure 2. is a perspective view looking from below of the head covering of Figure l;

Figure 3 is a horizontal sectional view taken substantially on the plane of the line 3-3 of Figure 4;

Figure 4 is a longitudinal, vertical sectional view taken substantially on the plane of the line 4--4 of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is an enlarged, fragmentary vertical sectional view taken substantially on the plane of the line 5-5 of Figure 3; and

Figure 6 is an enlarged, fragmentary perspective view with parts broken away and parts shown invertical section and showing one of the stiffeners in position.

Referring specifically to the drawing, wherein like reference characters have been used throughout the several views to designate like parts, 10 designates generally a head covering to which the invention has been applied. For the purpose of illustration, head covering 10 comprises a cap having a visor 11, a crown piece 12 and a side piece 13. However, it is obvious that the invention is equally applicable to hats or other forms of head coverings.

The crown piece 12 may or may not be lined but is unlined in the cap illustrated. However, the side piece 13 is provided with a lining 14 which is seamed to the upper edge of the side piece and to the margin of the crown piece 12 in any suitable manner as by the stitching 15. In like manner, the lower edge of the lining 14 is seamed to the lower edge of the side piece 13 in any suitable manner, as by the stitching 16. The side piece 13 and the lining 14 need not be connected except by the stitching lines 15 and 16 and in the embodiment illustrated such lines of stitching comprise the sole connection.

The stiffeners for supporting the crown piece 12 are best seen in Figures 5 and 6 and preferably comprising strips 17 which are vertically disposed in the space between the side piece 13 and its lining 14. Strips 17 are of a length to abut the edges of the upper and lower hems of the side piece and lining as clearly seen in Figure 5. The strips 17 may be of any suitable material but preferably comprise a material which is readily pierced by a needle so that they may be sewed into position. A satisfactory and currently preferred material comprises one or more plies of textile fabric which has been coated or impregnated with a stiffening material.

As best seen in Figure 3, four strips 17 have been provided and are disposed in circumferentially spaced relation around the side piece 13. Obviously, any desired number of such strips may be used. To prevent lateral movement of the strips in the space between the side piece 13 and lining 14, the strips 17 are anchored to the lining 14 alone in any suitable manner. In the embodiment illustrated, such anchoring means comprises one or more lines of Stitching 18. As clearly seen in Figures 5 and 6, the stitching 18 penetrates the lining 14 and the strips 17. However, the stitching lines 18 do not penetrate the side piece 13 whereby they are visible only from the inside of the cap as clearly seen by a comparison of Figure 1 with Figure 2. This arrangement largely eliminates the tendency of the strips 17 to bulge the side piece 13 and to have their locations outlined by dirt on the edges of the bulges. Also, by locating the strips 17 between upper and lower hems of the side piece, there is no increase of bulk in the hems. This is particularly important in respect to the lower hem as it presents the formation of a series of bulges inthe sweatband area of the cap. Obviously, such bulges or irregularities would make the cap uncomfortable to wear. However, as the strips 17 are no thicker than the combined bulk of the hems for the side piece 13 and lining 14, Figure 5, there is no bulging at all in the sweatband area.

By disposing the strips between the upper and lower hems of the side piece 13 with the upper and lower ends of the stiifeners in substantially abutting relation with adjacent edges of the hems, the cap is readily collapsed or attened out for packing, storage or shipment without the imposition of any strains on the seams 15 and 16. At the same time, the stiffeners 17 function automatically to elevate the crown 12 by the mere act of donning the cap. Moreover, collapsing of the cap is prevented as long as the cap is being worn in a normal manner.

While I have shown and described what is now thought to be a preferred embodiment of the invention, it should be understood that the same is susceptible of other forms and expressions. Consequently, I do not limit myself to the precise structure shown and described hereinabove except as hereinafter claimed.

I claim:

In a head covering including a crownpiece, a substantially cylindrical side piece secured thereto and depending therefrom, and a lining for said side piece, said side piece and lining having abutting upper hems and abutting lower hems, said side piece and lining being secured together solely through said hems whereby to be slightly spaced apart between said hems; the improvement comprising a plurality of ilat vertically disposed stilener strips between said lining and side piece in circumferentially spaced rela* tion, said strips having upper and lower ends substantially abutting said upper and lower hems, said stiiener strips each having a thickness not greater than the combined thickness of said abutting hems, and means securing said stiffener strips solely to said lining.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Simonson June 27, Goldman Dec. 8, Cohen July 12, Knowles June 17, Moscherrosch Mar. 14, Springer Oct. 7,

FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain Sept. 30, 

